Jealousy in University
by missadric2
Summary: Sherlock and John are thrown into a serial killer killing very specific students, will they catch the killer before it's too late?


Prologue

Kill. Must kill them. Murder, kill them dead, so they speak no more. Stab, hang, shoot, strangle, drown, whatever way to shut them up. Voice's telling me to, it's their fault, they have to die. If they didn't talk they could live, but no they laugh, they shout, they gossip, they accuse, they stare. He laughs at me, thinks I don't 'funny'. She shouts at me, thinks I'm stupid. She gossip's about me, thinks I don't care. She accuses me, thinks I'm at fault. She stares at me, thinks I'm ugly. Must stop them, must stop him, must stop her, must stop all of them. At whatever the cost.

Chapter 1

"SHERLOCK!" John shouted as he entered 221B.

"What? What have I done now?" Sherlock asked while typing on his laptop.

"I've been downstairs shouting up for you to come and help me with the shopping!" John explained.

"I heard, I just didn't feel like coming down, I'm sure you can cope" Sherlock said.

John sighed in annoyance.

"You know I always pull my weight around here and you..." John said.

"I what?" Sherlock asked still not taking his eyes off the screen.

"You mostly sit around doing nothing, all I ask is you carry a few bags up the stairs" John said

"Busy John"

"Busy with what? What is it you're looking at anyway?"

John moved to stand behind Sherlock to see the screen. Yet again he had hacked into Lestrade's files.

"Two students dead at the University of Westminster, one suicide other being treated as murder, police have no suspects yet and are appealing for any witnesses" John read out loud. "Why are you looking at this?"

"Why do you think?"

"You're bored again?"

"No, these students aren't linked"

"Because that makes sense"

Sherlock shut the laptop and turned to face John.

"A suicide and a murder, both at the same University however the students are on separate course and are opposite in gender. One was stabbed, the male, and the other hanged herself. Police have no leads so I'm expecting Lestrade to come to me for help soon, I was reading up on what had happened so I'm up to date" Sherlock said and stood up.

"So you can now predict the future?"

"No John, but I can predict when Lestrade will need me" At that moment his phone went off. He got it out of his suits pocket and answered it knowing who it would be. "Lestrade"

While Sherlock talked with Lestrade John went down to bring the shopping in. He made at least 3 trips up and down the stairs before he could sit down. Sherlock was still talking vigorously on his phone when he sat in his chair. He began to read the newspaper when Sherlock snatched it out of his hands.

"We need to go to the morgue" he said grabbing his coat and scarf.

Muttering to himself "don't I get a say in this?" John stands up and gets his coat as well.

"Mrs Hudson, we're off out" Sherlock shouted as they ran down the stairs and out the door. "Taxi!"

"And this is the suicide" Lestrade said gesturing to the female body lying next to the murdered male.

"I guessed Lestrade, quite a simple deduction really" Sherlock said inspecting the girls' body carefully. John watched him do his deduction work and as always he was impressed with it all. "Where's her New Look top?" He asked.

"How did you...never mind, Molly will have it" Lestrade said.

At that point Molly walked in right on queue.

"Ah Molly, where's this girls' clothes?" Sherlock asked very sweetly.

"Err I'll go and get them for you, back in a minute" She said quickly, leaving the room.

"Why do you need her top?" John asked.

"This wasn't suicide, murder fits it better, the small scratches on her shoulder and the way the bruises form around her neck show a struggle, why would you struggle when you are attempting suicide? Anyway, since she was struggling that means the rope must have worn onto her clothing, most likely onto her top she was wearing, I can find out if any DNA has been passed onto the rope therefore giving us the killer. Quite simple" Sherlock explained "There you are Molly, oh thank you" He took the black bag and dug out, surprise surprise, a New Look T-Shirt.

"Anytime" Molly said starting to blush.

Sherlock scanned the T-Shirt and took off some strands of rope that was on the neck line and put them in a small dish. He stuffed the top back into the bag and gave it back to Molly. He then rushed out to head upstairs but Lestrade stopped him.

"If this is murder, do you think it's a serial killer?" he asked.

"Given two people are dead, I'll go with yes, however I don't know his pattern yet so we'll have to wait" Sherlock said sternly.

"Sherlock, we can't wait until another person is killed" Lestrade objected.

"That's all we can do, come on John upstairs, oh no wait, Molly can you get the boys' clothing as well please with John? I'll meet you in the lab" He said shooting off out the door.

John, Lestrade and Molly all looked a bit bewildered but get on with what they had been asked to do.

Chapter 2

Sherlock entered the lab commandingly but stopped when he saw a young woman using the equipment. Unsure of what to do, or even say, he began to retreat back outside but the woman stopped him like Lestrade did.

"I won't be much longer" she said quickly looking him up and down and then looking back through the microscope "nice to meet you Sherlock Holmes"

Intrigued, Sherlock entered the room again and slowly made his way towards her.

"You know me?" He asked.

"Not personally no, but I know you're Sherlock Holmes" She said mysteriously.

"I don't think I'm very famous, at least not for you to know" he said.

She laughed but didn't stop looking at the microscope.

"Just cause I'm young, blonde and a girl means I can't know who you are?"

"How do you know me?"

"Molly"

"Ah, she told you about me, did she show you a picture or something?"

"Nope, she described you about 3 weeks ago, once she starts talking about you it's hard to shut her up, I know she's a friend and all but still" She forced her gaze away from the microscope and looked at him. He almost staggered back because of her piercing blue eyes but he stopped himself. "She told me you wore a long, black coat with a scarf. I'm guessing you're wearing an Armani suit underneath that coat with a shirt but no tie. You had thick, black hair with a strong jaw line and is very tall and I'm guessing John is downstairs since he isn't beside you"

"Molly gave you that description 3 weeks ago?"

"Yeah"

"You can't possible remember all of that and make the assumption that I'm who Molly talked of"

"I have a good memory and since Molly talks of you often, and by often I mean like every day, I thought you could be one of three things" She raised her hand and began to count on her fingers "one you're very hot, two you're very clever or three you're gay. I wouldn't exactly go for number one, three possibly but number two is right on the mark, after all, your website sums you up perfectly"

"You've visited my website?"

"Yeah and Dr John Watsons blog, very interesting I have to say" she smiled smug with herself.

Sherlock's mouth hinted at a smile at one of the corners, he was slightly impressed but knew why she was clever.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Scarlett Carr" She answered.

"Nice to meet you Scarlett"

"And you Mr Holmes"

"Judging by your accent you are from the north"

"Correct but where abouts? Impress me"

"There's a mix of Geordie but mostly Mackem but you were raised around the Durham area, am I right?"

She smiled slightly.

"Right, well done Mr Holmes" She said standing up and grabbing some sheets of paper out of the printer behind her. "A pleasure to meet you but I need to be getting back to the University, I have this assignment to hand in"

"Are you enjoying your forensics course at the University of Westminster?" he asked trying to confuse her. She looked over her shoulder.

"I am, very much, afternoon Mr Holmes" she said quickly without confusion and left the lab.

"Nice to know Scarlett Carr" He said.

A few minutes passed before John entered the room with the young man's' clothing in a black bag. Sherlock didn't say anything but kept looking through the microscope. John made his way over to him and put the bag down next him. He didn't speak for another few minutes and during that John had began to read a book that was on the side.

"Nothing, just everyday rope you get from B&Q, are those the boys clothes?" Sherlock asked.

"Oh err yes they are, do you need them out?" John asked but Sherlock didn't answer. Instead he got out a laptop and started to search for Westminster University and the courses. He sat staring at the screen for about 10 minutes before he stood up.

" 42, Star Street, Paddington" he said leaving the room and ignoring the boys clothes.

"Why are we going there?" John asked.

"A student lives there and she dropped this" he showed John a sheet of paper with University of Westminster on the top "I think she would like it back" They left the lab and nearly ran out of the building and they grabbed a taxi.

Chapter 3

The taxi weaved through the London traffic with ease. John had questions to ask as usual but Sherlock was busy with his phone again, researching something that seemed irrelevant but instead being very important. John looked out the taxi window and watched the buildings zooming past. He didn't bother interrupting Sherlock to ask about how he knew that student lived in Star Street, he just agreed as it's what Sherlock does.

"This is it, John pay the taxi" He said getting out and going to the front door and ringing the bell.

Without arguing John quickly pays the taxi and runs to join Sherlock at the front door.

"How can you be so sure this is where she lives? Have you even met her?" John asked.

"I've met her, yes, and I know she lives here because..."

The door opened by Scarlett.

"Hello again Mr Holmes" She said as if she knew it was going to be him at the door.

"You knew it would be me?" Sherlock asked.

"Well when you pinched a sheet of my assignment back in the lab I thought you would be coming to 'drop it off' today" she explained.

"And how did you know I took it? You were busy looking through the microscope"

"Yes but when you moved behind me I looked at the mirror on the other side of the room and saw your take a sheet of paper out of the printer that was still printing my work" Scarlett said.

"Oh dear God there's two of them" John said.

"Oh hi you must Dr John Watson, nice to meet you" She said offering her hand to him.

"Nice to meet you too err..."

"Scarlett Carr"

"Scarlett"

"I liked your blog, interesting way of writing" She said.

"Thank you" John said instantly warming to her.

"So what do you want Mr Holmes?" Scarlett asked a bit impatient.

"Sherlock please and I want to talk to you about the murder and suicide at your University" Sherlock said.

"Oh right you better come in then" Scarlett said opening the door fully to let them both in. She showed them to the living room and gestured for them to sit but only John sat on the sofa, Sherlock stayed standing.

"Do you want tea or coffee?" Scarlett asked.

"Yes tea please" John said at the same time Sherlock said "none for me". Scarlett laughed slightly and went to get a cup of tea for John. Sherlock began to scan the living room as he always does while John sat patiently for Scarlett to return.

"Here go, so what about the murders?" Scarlett asked giving John his tea and taking a sip of her own.

"You know they were both murders?" John asked surprised.

"I do forensics John, I found both bodies and saw the bruising around her neck, there was a struggle" she explained quickly.

"You found the bodies?" Sherlock asked.

She turned to look at him and nodded.

"I found Amelia's body in the girls' toilets and I found Stuart's body in a back alley next to the uni" she explained.

"What did you do when you found them?" Sherlock asked.

"Well I phoned the police and an ambulance, the hospital isn't that far so the ambulance wasn't long"

"How do you know the students, were you friends?" Sherlock asked.

"I wouldn't say friends but I used to meet up with them for dinner sometimes"

"Who else would be there?" John asked this time.

Scarlett sighed as began to think.

"Usually me, Amelia, Stuart, Hannah and Becca"

"Who teaches you?" Sherlock asked.

"Who teaches me forensics?"

"Yes"

"Beth Cunningham" She answered.

"Why aren't you in University now?" John asked.

"Have no lectures for about another hour, so it's obviously a serial killer and you haven't worked out the pattern yet I'm guessing" Scarlett said.

"No not yet" Sherlock said simply.

"I know this sounds horrible but I think the only way is to wait, I mean Stuart was killed on Monday last week and then Amelia was killed on Wednesday of that week, so gender isn't the link and neither is the time or place or even way of killing" Scarlett explained.

"Hang on how do we know it's the same person?" John asked.

"We don't John, we are just assuming for now" Sherlock said.

A good 45 minutes passed and Scarlett was getting worried she would be late for her lecture.

"I'm sorry but my lecture starts in 15 minutes and I need to talk to Beth beforehand so I'm going to have to go" Scarlett said.

"Oh we completely understand" John said.

"Can you get us onto the campus?" Sherlock asked.

"I can't, for one thing I don't know how" She said getting her bag.

"That's fine completely understand, right Sherlock?" John asked.

"No, Scarlett we need to get inside to have a look around" Sherlock said.

"Look, here's my number" She said writing her number on Sherlock's hand "put your number in my phone while I grab my coat" she said giving him her phone and going to fetch her coat. She came back and he handed it back. "If I can get you in I'll give you a ring"

"I prefer texting" he said before leaving.

"Fine I'll text you" She said. They left the house and Scarlett locked up.

"I'm sorry for Sherlock, he's always like that" John said.

"Don't worry about John, I know how he is, Molly told me" she said while smiling warmly.

"You a lot like him you know"

"Me? Like him?"

"Yeah, you can see things other people don't"

"John, I study forensics I kind of have to look for the detail, I just happen to use it in everyday living as well" she said putting her bag on her shoulder "it was nice to meet you John, hopefully we'll meet again"

"I'm sure we will" John said smiling at her. She smiled back and began making her way to the University. John heard a car horn go and saw Sherlock already in a taxi. "I'm coming!" He got in but the taxi didn't move.

"Where are we going?" John asked.

"To the university, but we have to wait until she gets there"

"Why?"

"I have my reasons" Sherlock said.

Chapter 4

About 10 minutes passed before Sherlock made the taxi move. An ambulance went speeding past the street and Sherlock got a text so he leapt into action.

"Follow that ambulance!" The taxi sped after the ambulance.

"Where's it going?" John asked.

"The University, where else? I just got this text from Scarlett" He showed John the text.

"Beth found dead, come now" John read out loud.

"Body count is up to three now and they have all been found by Scarlett, she must be the one the killer wants, whoever he is" Sherlock said when the taxi pulled up behind the ambulance.

The police also pulled up with Lestrade obviously on the case. Sherlock ignored him and went straight inside to find the body. He saw some paramedics saying officially the time of death and then go to talk to Scarlett who was leaning against the wall. He didn't say anything to her he just went to the body to examine it.

"She was strangled" She said.

"I can see" Sherlock said.

"What do we have Sherlock?" Lestrade said entering the room.

"Beth Cunningham, aged 36, teacher of forensics strangled by what looks like male hands" he said.

"How do you know her name and age?" Lestrade asked.

"Very simple, her name badge"

"Oh, are you the girl who found her?" Lestrade asked Scarlett after the paramedics had checked she was ok.

"No, I thought I would just come and hang out in here while there's a dead body lying on the floor" She said sarcastically. Sherlock's mouth hinted at a smile but he continued to scan the body. "Yes I found her, she's my teacher"

"Right, Anderson!" he shouted and Anderson came into the room.

"Yes?" he said.

"Question, err sorry what's your name?" Lestrade asked.

"Scarlett" Sherlock said "her name is Scarlett"

"Question Scarlett for me" Lestrade said. Anderson led Scarlett out of the room to ask her a few questions.

"You honestly don't think she did it do you?" Sherlock asked.

"She found the other bodies as well, we have to treat her as a suspect now" Lestrade said.

"Well you can scratch her off the list, she didn't do it"

"How do you know?"

"For one thing her hands are very small therefore no way could she cause the bruises on this woman and she had been dead for at least 20 minutes, me and John were at her house down the road asking her a few questions, it's impossible for her to have done this" He explained.

"I can vouch for that as well Lestrade" John said finally entering the room "Scarlett isn't the killer"

"Maybe she's not responsible for this murder, but she's still a suspect for the other two, unless you can become her alibi again" Lestrade said with a hint of sarcasm.

Sherlock didn't say anything so John answered.

"No, we can't, we've only just met her really"

"Well then she will be treated as a suspect until she's proven otherwise" Lestrade said "Excuse me" He left the room and Sherlock stood up.

"Scarlett can't have killed these people John, she just can't have" he said.

"Are you starting to like her?" John asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you have a soft spot for her because she's clever"

He ignored John and looked around the room and saw a CCTV camera, he grabbed a chair and took a look at the camera.

"The footage has been removed, this guy knows what he's doing" Sherlock said slightly surprised.

"Surprised?" John asked.

"I am, he doesn't leave fingerprints or any kind of trace behind but he seems to be heading straight for Scarlett, she's always the one who finds them, never anyone else, always her, what does she have that the killer wants?" he wondered out loud.

"Money?"

"Be a bit more creative John"

"Possessions?"

"Dont think so"

"Friends?"

"The friends I have he is killing, other than those people I don't have any other friends" Scarlett said from the doorway "is that Anderson having a laugh or is he always that thick?"

John smiled in amusement and Sherlock came down off the chair which he was standing on.

"He's always that thick" John said.

"What do you mean you don't have friends?" Sherlock said.

"Well, I'm not exactly the most popular of people or even very..." Scarlett began to say before she was interrupted by her phone ringing "Hello? Right ok I'll come back" she hung up "I have to go, see ya"

"Bye" John said.

"Baker Street John" Sherlock said storming out of the University with John in tow.

Chapter 5

The wall now had papers and picture stuck on it, with information of each murder victim so far. Sherlock was staring at them and John was sitting in his chair texting Sarah about another date in a few days.

Stuart Bagley aged 20 and was a Fine Art student at the University of Westminster. 3 sisters aged 10, 13 and 16 with divorced parents. He had dark brown hair with brown eyes and was 5.10 ft tall. A Level results ABB in Fine Art, English Literature and English Language. Was gay and was single when he was stabbed three times, twice in the abdomen and once in the chest. Blade unknown died of a puncture to his heart and two large punctures in his stomach. Found in an alleyway next to the University campus. Time and date of death; 17:43pm on Monday the 27th October.

Amelia Harrington aged 20 and was an English Language student at the University of Westminster. No siblings but has both parents who are still married. She had short curly blonde hair with grey eyes and was 5.7 ft tall. A Level results AAB in English Language, English Literature and French. Was straight and was single when she was found hanged in the girls' toilets on the campus of the University of Westminster, died of a broken neck but had bruising along her shoulders with scratches. Time and date of death; 12:19pm on Wednesday the 29th October.

Beth Cunningham aged 36 and was the lecturer of Forensics at the University of Westminster. One older brother aged 39, mother died last year and father is suffering from cancer. She had long, straight black hair with brown eyes and was 5.9 ft tall. Been teaching for nearly 10 years at the University. She had a boyfriend who left her last week. Was killed by strangulation and was found in her lecture room on the Tuesday the 4th of November.

Everyone was completely different with only two things in common, the University and Scarlett Carr. Sherlock couldn't even be sure it was the same killer since they was such different killings. At least he had a links he was almost certain about, Scarlett and the University, each one had that link which gave Sherlock a bit of confidence. He had quickly figured out that the next victim would be Hannah Brett or Rebecca Stanley. He had warned Scarlett about who could be next but she hadn't replied to the text. Sherlock just stared at the evidence in front of him.

When John got up the next morning Sherlock was still staring at the wall which didn't surprise John in the slightest.

"I'm having some breakfast, want anything?" John asked knowing the answer.

"You know I don't eat while I'm thinking" Sherlock said.

"I have to be polite" John said.

He quickly made some toast and a cup of tea and sat in his chair again.

"Worked anything more out?" He asked.

"We need to see Scarlett again, I need to find out more about her" He said but not moving.

"Then why don't you go and see her?"

"Can't, I have to see if I can get anything more from the bodies, so I'm off to the morgue, you'll have to talk to her" He said.

"What do you want me to get from her?" John said without arguing.

"As much as you can, personal history if must" John sighed and quickly downed his tea and toast before he got up and put on his coat and gloves.

"Where will she be?" John asked.

"The University, obviously"

"Obviously" He said leaving the flat quickly saying to Mrs Hudson that he's going out again.

John soon found Scarlett working at a computer in the IT room on her own. He entered the room and a teacher stood in his way.

"May I help you?" She asked.

"Erm I'm actually wanting to interview Scarlett over there, part of the murder investigation" he said quickly. The teacher eyed him carefully.

"I think Scarlett has been through enough for this week" she said.

"Its fine Linda, I don't mind another interview" Scarlett said from behind her.

"You sure?"

"Quite sure" Linda left John alone and Scarlett quickly smiled at John and led him out of the room. "So glad you turned up, I was getting sick of being babysat by Linda"

"Why are you being babysat?"

"Because apparently I'm still in shock" They laughed "So what is it you want John?"

"I need to talk to you, just a general thing" he said casually.

"Right ok come with me, I'll take you to the cafe" she said showing him the way.

The cafe wasn't far and Scarlett liked John, he was much easier to talk to than Sherlock, more sociable. They laughed and joked their way to the cafe. They took up two seats of a four seater table and sat opposite each other.

"So what do you want to know?" Scarlett asked.

"Just general stuff, like why did you take forensics?" he asked.

"I don't know, just always found it interesting for some reason"

"Why did you come down to London? Why not stay up in the north east?"

"London is well the capital, being up north feels very cut off, like there's nowt going on and there's always something going on down here, more opportunities for me"

"Do you want to move back up there someday?"

"Nah, I love it in London, all the hustle and bustle and constant rush, I like life in the fast lane, Molly said she can give me a reference when I'm finished which is cool"

"So you want to make a career out of it?"

"Yeah I mean I love helping find the hidden pieces in a crime and forensic science seemed the best option for me, I wouldn't do well as a lawyer at all, I aim to find and punish the criminal rather than try and prove them to be a good guy"

"I agree with you there" he laughed.

They talked for a good hour and John really got to know her, he had learned her A Level results AAB and about her family. She had two sisters, one older 25 and the other younger 17. Her father is a mechanic and her mother is interior designer. They weren't rich but had enough money for a few luxuries. He had learned so much but he still had something else to ask before she had to head back to being 'babysat'.

"What did you mean earlier by 'not the most popular'?" he asked.

"Hey Scarlett" a female student said walking past them.

"Hey Hannah" she said quickly and saw her sitting down at the table behind them. Scarlett then looked at John again.

"Well, I'm not clever through talent, I'm not naturally clever I have to work all day everyday to be good at what I do and with that comes no or very little social life" she explained, she shifted in her seat and leaned on the table "when I was slow at learning how to read and write and I used to be bullied for it, constantly. I'm not dyslexic or have a condition I just found it very hard, I soon learned that I had to really work to become clever, friends would invite me round and I would have to refuse to keep on top of my homework and coursework, when I came here it's still the same. I don't even talk that much to my housemates, I only know their names, but Stu, Becca, Hannah and Amelia understood because..."

"Because they are the same, they aren't naturally clever" Sherlock said from behind John. Both jumped in shock at his presence.

"Right" Scarlett said slightly bemused.

"That's why you don't have many friends" Sherlock said sitting down.

"Yeah exactly, I'm working so much that I have no time for a social life" she explained.

"But I thought Stuart was on the Fine Art course? Surely he needs just talent?" John asked.

"Fine Art is hard work, it's not an easy course to take just for fun, it's not just about quality it's quantity, he draws...drew every moment of spare time he had" she said.

"Duck" Sherlock said.

Chapter 6

"What?" John and Scarlett said together.

"I mean what I said, duck" he said.

"Why?" they asked.

"There is someone through that window pointing a gun at you Scarlett" he explained in a quick whisper. She looked at the window through the corner of her eye, looked at John and Sherlock and then all three of them ducked under the table just as the gun was fired four times. Once the gun stopped firing Sherlock got up and ran after whoever was using the gun. John thought about running after him as well but Scarlett asked for him.

"What? Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No I'm not but Hannah!" She said running over to her.

John knew she was dead as soon as he saw her on the floor. Blood was pooling around her and her eyes were completely blank. She had been shot in the head and once in the shoulder, the other two shots had missed completely and had hit the wall.

They knelt beside her and John sighed sadly and shut Hannah's eyes gently.

"Time of death, 10:06" he said quietly. He touched Scarlett's shoulder gently and got up to get the bullets out of the wall. He grabbed a serviette off the nearest table and removed the small bullets and wrapped them up and put them in his pocket for Sherlock to take a look later. He went back to Scarlett who was still kneeling next to Hannah's body. He knelt next to her and put his arm around her reassuringly.

"I'm sorry Scarlett but..." John said but was cut off by the sound of the gun going off again outside. He immediately thought of Sherlock and shot off to find him. Scarlett stayed put staring blankly at Hannah's stiff body.

John ran out of the building.

"SHERLOCK!" he shouted and heard Sherlock shout for him. He ran after his voice and turned a corner and saw Sherlock trying to stop the blood coming out of a girl's side.

"She was shot at close range" he said quickly "I've rang an ambulance should be here any second" John took over from Sherlock by applying pressure on the girl's waist.

"What's your name?" he asked trying to keep her awake.

"Rebecca, Rebecca Stanley" she said weakly.

"Nice to meet you, I'm John Watson and this is Sherlock" he said.

The girl smiled but soon lost consciousness. John began CPR but with no output. The ambulance arrived in record time. John gave the medical information to the paramedics and helped them get her in the ambulance continuing CPR. Sherlock couldn't do anything but watch John be amazing as he usually was in being a Doctor. But even John's medical knowledge couldn't save the girl.

"Time of Death, 10:15" John said after a few minutes of CPR. He came out of the ambulance and showed one of the paramedics to the other body. Scarlett wasn't there when he arrived which worried him slightly. Looking around the room John couldn't see Scarlett anywhere. He left the paramedics to their work and went to go and find her. He left the room and turned the corner and saw Sherlock holding a limp body up.

"John! I don't know what happened" he said. John ran over and saw that the body was Scarlett "she just collapsed, she's breathing but unconscious" John checked her pulse and checked for any injury, everything was fine.

"I think she's just fainted Sherlock, she'll be fine" John said taking her out of Sherlock's arms and picking Scarlett up into his arms and taking her to a different ambulance and laying her down on the gurney. He turned to face Sherlock. "I took the bullets out of the wall, thought you would like to have a look" he took the hanky out of his pocket and gave it to Sherlock.

"Fantastic! Well done John!" he said with delight and began looking at them.

"What happened?" Scarlett asked coming round. John climbed back into the ambulance and looked at her.

"You fainted" he said.

"I did? Where am I?" she asked.

"In an ambulance"

"I'm not going to hospital am I?"

"No, there's no need"

"Good, hate hospitals, they scare me" she said sitting up "why did I faint? I've never fainted in my life"

"Probably because of the shock" John said gently "you can't stop your body from shutting off when it's in shock, even if you don't think you are"

"I suppose"

"Can you tell me what you remember?"

"Err I was kneeling next to Hannah's body and then you ran off, I got up and tried to follow but I ended up going into the toilets for some reason and then I don't remember"

"You came out of the toilets" Sherlock said from the doors of the ambulance "and then started to walk towards me with a blank expression on your face and then you just collapsed"

"I don't remember that" Scarlett said standing up and slowly getting out of the ambulance.

"You will in time, don't worry about it" John said following her out "so what are the bullets?"

"From a small hand gun, had about 6 shots in it" he said briefly.

"I'm next aren't I?" Scarlett asked even though she knew what the answer was.

"Yes, I think you are" Sherlock said "and I have no idea why!" he said angrily.

"Come on Scarlett let's get you home" John said.

"No, you need to come to 221B with us, I'd like to ask you a few questions" he said.

"If you wouldn't mind" John finished for him.

"Yeah course, I'll come" she said. They grabbed a taxi and headed back to 221B.

Chapter 7

Mrs Hudson brought in some more tea with biscuits and asked again if Scarlett was comfortable. Again Scarlett said thank you and that she was fine. She left them in peace for the third time and Scarlett sipped some more tea.

"There must be something, serial killers don't just kill for fun, for attention maybe but not just for fun, is there _anything _you can think of that might be the reason?" Sherlock asked.

Scarlett thought and thought and thought but couldn't think of anything. She apologised and said no. Sherlock, annoyed, looked at his wall which he had added the newest victims to it. And that's when he saw it, the connection that he was so stupid not to see with what he had seen today.

"OH!" he said clapping his hands together "That's it! All I needed was to see the killer once"

"What is it?" John said jumping up.

"Scarlett, in your little group was it _just _the five of you?" he asked.

"Yeah"

"Only ever you five? There was never a 6th?"

"No, never, although there was one guy, Steve, who would say hi to us and this girl, don't know her name, who would always follow him"

"Did this Steve guy have a girlfriend?"

"Dont think so why? What is it?" she asked confused.

"Did you find this guy attractive?"

"No, but he takes forensics and we used to talk for like two seconds after a lecture. And when I mean two seconds, I mean like two seconds"

"And this girl? Did you talk to her?"

"No, I would look at her but not talk to her" she said "Beth used to shout at her a lot, Stuart used to laugh at her when she tried to touch Steve in some way and the others used to gossip or accuse her of something, I didn't pay that much attention to it I'm afraid"

"Sherlock what is it?" John asked getting annoyed.

"We got it wrong John, the killer is a girl, not a man" he said quickly "Scarlett, describe this girl"

"She was big, I mean tall and a bit over weight, err she has blonde hair but it was always greasy, she wasn't exactly the best groomed person, sounds horrible but you know"

"OH!" John said.

"Knew you'd get there eventually" Sherlock said.

"It can't be her though, I mean I couldn't see her killing someone" Scarlett said.

"Why?" John asked.

"I don't know, just can't see her being a murderer"

"But she is, she must have been pushed over the edge and that's why we thought it was a male killer, she has the build of a male, over weight and tall, but when I ran after her today I saw a glimpse of blonde hair, I didn't register it because that was the moment Becca was shot, it's only clicking now" he said "we need her name" he went to his laptop and powered it up.

"So if I'm next how is she going to kill me?" Scarlett asked.

Sherlock didn't answer and John just shrugged his shoulders once.

The two of them tried to find any records of the girl who was the killer. They looked through police files and then University files failing to find anyone. Sherlock kept looking with John looking over his shoulder. Scarlett felt a bit helpless so she decided to just leave and go home.

"I'll just leave you's to it" she said. Sherlock didn't say anything but John raised his hand to say bye. She left quietly and flagged down a taxi.

"Got her!" Sherlock said in triumph "Jenifer Long, aged 21 and look here's some of her documents" he double clicked on the document that said 'private'.

"Shit!" John said reading it.

"This is her plan of her killings, look, times, dates and ways of killing" he said gesturing to each column.

"And there's how she got the weapons" John said pointing to another column.

"She was all prepared but look, the date for Becca to die was supposed to be tomorrow, not today"

"Why?"

"Maybe she killed her just because she was there and it was easier"

"I'll get my notepad to get this down" he said going to his room to fetch his notepad. He only just reached the door when Sherlock shouted him back.

"Scarlett's in trouble" he said.

"Why?"

"This was updated today, about 25 minutes after Becca was shot"

"What does it say?"

"Plans changed, I was seen today which was not part of the plan, Scarlett needs to die today, she was taken to 221B Baker Street by two men, friends most probably, don't really care but it's time that she stopped breathing, let the water take care of that" Sherlock read out loud.

"Water? She wants to drown her?" John asked.

"Yes and also she's rented a taxi out, she has the record here" he said pointing to the reference number.

"Shit! She left in a taxi about 10 minutes ago" John said. They both froze for a second and then they both jumped up and ran out of the flat.

Chapter 8

"How do you know she's headed for the Thames?" John asked.

"For one thing it said so in her 'plan' but we need to catch up to her taxi, I know the number plate" Sherlock said.

"But she could pick any part of the river to go to" John said but Sherlock didn't answer again. He was too busy looking out of the taxi window scanning each taxi number plate. And then it hit him. He got out his phone and texted Scarlett asking where she was. She replied quickly, thankfully, saying she was next to the Thames heading north, she wasn't too sure where. Sherlock knew where she was and told the taxi where to go and to step on it.

They soon caught up with the taxi that Scarlett was in and they could see the car starting to lose control. It swerved left and right until it completely lost it and swerved sharp right breaking through the railings and diving straight into the rivers. Sherlock and John's cab skidded to a halt and they jumped out and rushed to the edge. Sherlock took his coat, scarf and gloves off and handed them to John.

"What the...Sherlock?" John said grabbing a hold of his stuff. Sherlock dived into the river and went after the taxi that had sunk quickly.

With a lung full of air Sherlock tried to find the taxi through the murky water and soon saw the orange light that said 'Taxi'. He swam towards it and saw Scarlett trying to escape but the door was locked from the inside. Sherlock tried to smash the window with his foot but that didn't work. Scarlett started to panic and tried desperately to open the door which still wouldn't budge.

Sherlock tried to think quickly, he was running out of air and so was Scarlett. He gestured to her to use the button in the front of the taxi to unlock the door. She nodded and reached out and pushed it. Sherlock opened the door with ease and helped Scarlett out but Jenifer had grabbed a hold of her ankle and refused to let go. She fought her as much as she could but she had no air left in her lungs and darkness was covering her vision. Sherlock swam into the taxi and forced Jenifer to let go of Scarlett's ankle. She still refused so Sherlock had no choice but to punch her. As soon as Scarlett was free Sherlock pulled her lifeless body to the surface.

John waited by the edge nervously, debating whether to dive in after them or not. Bubbles had stopped rising to the surface which worried him. He had rang an ambulance and the police, including Lestrade who were on their way. He was just about to dive in when he finally saw Sherlock surface. He swam to the edge with Scarlett and John lifted her out and laid her on her back and began CPR for the second time that day. Sherlock lifted himself out coughing for air.

Scarlett's chest rose and fell as John kept forcing air into her lungs. He pushed firmly onto her chest to make her heart start and force the water to come out. The police and ambulance sirens could be heard in the distance but John didn't stop his CPR. He checked for breathing again and when didn't get a response he kept trying.

"Come on Scarlett! Breathe!" he said. Sherlock stood staring as John did what he did best, be a Doctor.

Breathe, one, two, three, four. Breathe, one, two, three, four. This went on for a few, very long minutes until finally Scarlett choked into consciousness. John sighed in relief and he was sure he saw Sherlock do the same, even if it wasn't very obvious.

"It's ok, just breathe" John said putting his hand on her back. He took his coat off and put it round Scarlett's shoulders and kept reassuring her.

Chapter 9

"It's just a bit of something to say thanks" Scarlett said to John and Sherlock handing them a box with a ribbon round it.

"You didn't need to do that" John said.

"Well, you saved my life, both of you, you's deserve a bit of something" she said smiling slightly.

John opened the box and saw a book. He took it out and said thank you to Scarlett.

"It's ok, I better be going, I have a lot of work to catch up on" she said. John put the book down on the table and went over to Scarlett.

"Will you be ok?" he asked.

"Course I will, I'm tougher than you think" she said.

John hugged her gently and whispered "you be careful, you hear me?"

She laughed and ended the hug "I'll try, but what's life without a few risks?"

"Very true" Sherlock said.

"Thank you again and enjoy the book" she said.

Scarlett nodded to Sherlock to say goodbye and she went down the stairs. John saw her out and then came back up.

"I wonder what that book is" John said going over to the book and picking it up.

"It's Scarlett's research" Sherlock said.

"How do you? I haven't even opened the book"

"The paper I pinched those few weeks ago, it was for a research book"

"Research for what?"

Sherlock smiled.

"What makes a serial killer" Sherlock said "she wanted to know what made a serial killer want to kill, and what ways they wanted to kill etc"

John laughed and looked at the book.

"I'm guessing this is going on your blog?" Sherlock said lying back on the sofa.

"Of course" he said sitting down in his chair.

"What title are you going to give it this time?" Sherlock asked, not really interested.

"I was thinking 'Jealousy in University' thought it had a nice ring to it, after all the girl was jealous that that Steve guy was talking to that group of people and ignoring her, that was the reason why she killed them"

"Love is a powerful emotion" Sherlock said

"And dangerous"

Sherlock ignored him that time so John rolled his eyes and began to read the first page of the book. It said 'to Dr John Watson and Sherlock Holmes, the only two people I genuinely got on with'. He smiled and began to read.


End file.
